The Florida Department of Education released results from 2018 standardized exams and students posted higher scores this year than last in math, science and social studies. Some grades also did better on reading tests.

Florida students posted higher scores this year than last on state math, science and social studies exams and, in some grades, did better on state reading tests, too, according to results released Thursday by the Florida Department of Education.

The scores are from the Florida Standards Assessments (which test reading and math skills third grade through high school), the state’s science exams for fifth- and eighth-graders and end-of-course exams in biology, civics and U.S. history. All the exams are scored on a five-level system, with a score of 3 considered passing or at grade level.

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The percentage of state third-graders passing the FSA reading exam fell this year compared with 2017, results released last month show. But today’s batch of scores — from students in all grades — showed improvements in most subjects.

More Broward County third-, fourth-, fifth- and eighth-graders are reading on grade level, according to a report by the district. Math proficiency increased for third- and fifth-graders and science improved for fifth- and eighth-graders.

“Our students showed great resilience in taking the FSA tests just two months after the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,” Superintendent Robert Runcie said. “While this has been a difficult school year and our entire community is continuing to recover, we remain committed to providing all students with a high-quality education.”

In Palm Beach County, the percentage of students showing reading proficiency improved in grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. Math proficiency improved in grades 5 and 8, and the district posted better results for end-of-course exams in algebra, geometry and biology.

Results from the state, Florida’s school districts and individual public schools can be found here.

Some highlights:

In math, students in most grades posted the highest scores since the FSA was introduced in 2015, replacing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test or FCAT. The percentage of students passing the algebra 1 end-of-course test — required to earn a diploma — hit 61 percent, up from 56 percent three years ago.

In science, both fifth and eighth grades posted the highest scores since 2012. On the state’s end-of-course biology exam — taken by students whenever they take a first-year high school biology course — 65 percent passed the exam, up from 59 percent six years ago.

In social studies, 71 percent of students passed the state’s civics exam — typically taken by seventh-graders — compared with 61 percent in 2014. And 68 percent of the high school students passed their U.S. history exam, which had a 56 percent passing rate in 2013.

In reading, students in grades 5, 8, 9 and 10 showed improvements from the prior year. The 10th-grade FSA reading exam also is key, as, along with the algebra test, students must pass it to earn a high school diploma. Fifty three percent of 10th-graders passed it this year, up from 50 percent last year. Students can retake the algebra and reading exams, if they fail the first time.

The results from these standardized exams are used to calculate the annual A-to-F school grades given to Florida’s public schools. Those grades are typically released mid-summer.

The scores can also play into teachers’ evaluations and students’ promotion and graduation decisions, class assignments and course grades.

Schools typically make individual student scores available to parents soon after the state’s release, either through online grade portals or with paper copies available for pickup on campus.